美国等西方国家社会裂变中的“认同群体”与ethnic group

“Identity Group” and Ethnic Group in the Social Fission of the United States and Other Western Countries

ethnic group这一术语在美国等西方国家的广泛应用,是20世纪60年代以后的事情。该术语的流行与当时美国等西方国家社会裂变的历史背景直接相关。同时,该术语也是多元文化主义的产物,反映了西方社会“后现代主义”思潮中“认同政治”的“族类政治化”特征。本文就这一术语在美国和其他西方国家流行的国情特点和社会背景进行一些分析,以期为全面认识和理解这一术语在西方国家的应用实践提供一种思路。文章认为,在理解和借鉴西方学术界有关ethnic group的概念及其理论时,如果简单地做出民族(nation)是政治概念、族群(ethnic group)是文化概念这一泾渭分明的判断,而忽视西方国家在应用这一术语时的社会、政治背景和指称对象,就会因脱离国情实际而导致对这一概念及其理论的误读和应用于本土研究中的误导。

It was not until the 1960s that the term of ethnic group was widely used in the Untied States and other Western countries. The prevalence of the term correlated directly with the historical background of social fission in these countries during that period. Meanwhile, as a product of multiculturalism, the term also reflected the feature of 'ethnic politicization' in the 'politics of identity' of the 'post - modern' trend in Western societies. This paper analyzes the national conditions and social background in which the term became prevalent, in order to provide an approach to the comprehensive understanding of the term' s application in practice in the United States and other Western countries. The simplified classification of nation as a political concept and ethnic group as a cultural one, coupled with the neglect of the social and political background of the term and what it meant when put into use, the paper points out, will result in misreading of the concept and its theory and misleading of their application in domestic studies.